The Engineer's Effect
by soran51
Summary: I woke up on Omega with no idea how I got there. On the first day a vorcha thought I'd make a good snack so I taught him differently. It's three years before the events of Mass Effect 1 so I got some time. I'm an engineer I don't fight on the front lines but there's still plenty I can do. Let's hope this works with out blowing up my hand in the process. SI/Tali, FemShep/Liara
1. Prologue

**A/N: So here's my first true SI. I had this scene in my head so I had to write it down. This story will update periodically along with the rest of the other's I'm writing. However this is the prologue so I should have the actual first chapter up in a few days.**

**Prologue: Tragedy**

That was one of the few thing Bioware never got right. Watching Saren's flesh _melt _off his body as Sovereign took over his corpse is perhaps the single most disturbing thing I have ever seen. I looked over, Ashley and Liara were both pale, Wrex looked absolutely pissed, and Shepard had a grim look on her face.

"Get to cover!" Shepard yelled and we all dove.

I posted up next to a planter. One look at Saren's movement's told me that the Judge would be useless here. Like the Geth hoppers, Saren was just too fast for the mini turret to track properly. Instead I choose to look over my squad mates. As their shields dropped I used my omni-tool and gave them a boost.

I watched as Ashley took a particularly bad hit causing her shields to completely drop to zero. Saren, or rather Sovereign, saw his chance. He opened his mouth and I struggled to get my tool to recharge.

Just as Saren fired his main weapon from his mouth I watched in horror as Tali shoved Ashley out of the way.

"NO!" I was up and running before I even knew what was happening. Tali's shields had been near full strength when she got hit, but not even they could stop all that energy.

I slid down just in time to catch the little Quarian before she hit the ground. Spinning I stood up with her in my arms before anyone else could react. I ran over to a small alcove in the chamber.

"Liara I need you!" I screamed into my microphone.

"I'm on my way!"

I pulled up my omni-tool and quickly hacked into Tali's suit system's. What I saw practically made my heart stop. She was still alive, but just barely. Tali had second and third degree burns all across her chest and her suit was punctured in half a dozen different spots.

"Goddess." Liara said looking over my shoulder.

I didn't know what to do. I froze.

"Marcus."

"MARCUS!" I snapped out of it. Liara was shaking me. "Focus Marcus. Tali needs you now."

"Liara I don't know what to do. I'm an engineer for God's sake not a doctor."

"Then be an engineer! What do you need to do?"

I looked down and tried to ignore Tali's dropping vitals. "Joker! Get me a direct line to Chakwas."

"I'm a little busy at the moment."

"JOKER TALI'S BEEN HIT! NOW DO IT."

"Right."

"Marcus what's wrong?" Chakwas's face appeared in front of me.

"Tali's hit bad. I need help." I said desperately.

A brief look of concern flashed across her face before it was replaced with cold professionalism. "Send me what you have."

I forwarded her the scan from my omni-tool and waited.

"First thing I need you to do is inject as much medigel as you can directly into her blood stream." I raced to obey Karin as fast as I could. "Then put some in and around the punctures to her suit and make sure you get it in good. Now Tali should have a canister of disinfective spray somewhere on her person find it."

"Liara find the spray." I said. Meanwhile Shepard and the others continued to fight for their lives in another matter.

"I've got it!" Liara exclaimed.

"Good now spray around each puncture sight and then use omni-gel to form an air tight barrier."

As soon as Liara had finished with the spray I fired up my micro fabricator only to find out I was out of omni-gel "Shit!" I quickly grabbed my gun and melted it down and used it to seal up Tali's suit.

"Now what?" I asked. Tali's vitals were still low and her heart rate was slowing.

"Now you need to inject her with some anti-biotics there should be a port on her thigh that you can use."

"Okay." I fumbled around in my friends pockets as quickly as I could and found a couple of vials. "Are these it?"

"Yes two should do it." I quickly uncapped two of the vials and pushed them home into Tali's leg. She was going to be hurting when she woke up. I sat there watching as Tali struggled to survive. My heart was pounding in my chest. Suddenly her breathing stopped.

"Doctor!"

"Marcus her suit should have a built in adrenalin supplement in the even of cardiac arrest."

"Doctor her suit's so scrambled I don't know if that's going to work!"

"Then do the old fashioned way!" Karin screamed.

I looked over at Tali's helmet with out a second though I grabbed her visor and puled it off. I saw her face for the first time. She was so young. In a few years she would be beautiful. I could already see it. She seemed so peaceful, like she was sleeping. I pulled off my helmet and while a battle that would determine the fate of the galaxy raged around us. I kissed Tali'Zorah for the first time.

**A/N: Let me know what you guys think in the reviews.**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: I said I would have the actual First Chapter up soon so here it is guy's I know it's a little short but I wanted to get the ball rolling. Let me know what you guys think**

**Chapter One: I'm not your dinner**

I felt something nudge me. In my sleep deprived state I swatted at the offending nudge and mumbled something. Only to be prodded a second time. This time I heard someone speak, but I couldn't understand it. It was harsh and raspy.

"What?" I mumbled and cracked my eyes open.

Standing over me was something strait out of a nightmare. The . . . creature had pale yellow skin that was stretched tight and I could see exposed muscle. Its lips were stretched back revealing a mouthful of sharp pointed teeth.

"GHAAAA!" It screamed at me.

"Whoa!" I said and scrambled back. Only to find out the bench I had been sleeping on ran out of room and I tumbled to my back. I landed in an ungraceful sprawl with my feet way up in the air.

"GHAAAA!"

"Get away from me you freak!" I yelled. I pulled my foot back and smashed it into its face. Breaking several teeth.

I rolled back and scrambled to my feet. The thing was laying on the ground clutching its mouth. Orange blood dripped onto the metal plates beneath its feet. Not wasting any time I stepped forward and kicked the thing's face. Whatever it was, it couldn't have weighed more than a hundred pounds because it flew back at least three feet.

I've studied four martial arts over my life, tae kwon do, karate, jujitsu, and krav maga. Meaning that I'm fairly confidant in my ability to defend myself, but I've never been in a real fight. The one thing all of my teachers stressed was that if you didn't have to fight, run. So I did just that and channeled my inner run fu.

I've never been a thin guy. After all I have a gut, but it wasn't a beer gut, more like something you'd see on a football player, a thick slab of muscle. I wasn't fast, but I could run five miles without stopping at an eight minute pace.

I ran through back alleys and streets that looked worse than a garbage dump. I saw a number of creatures like the one I left behind. Something about them seemed familiar, but I couldn't place them. I also saw humans living in these slums, I knew something wasn't right.

I came out into a square of some kind and I gasped in shock at the sight before me. Turns out I knew this place, I knew it very well, only in a video game. Right there in front of me was the skyline of Omega.

"Oh shit." I said softly. Now I remembered what that thing was in the alley, it must have been a Vorcha. How the hell did I end up in Omega? What the hell is going on?

I heard a soft musical voice behind me. I turned and saw a young Quarian approaching me. She looked to be fairly young and nervous. She stopped well outside my arm's reach and said something again.

"I'm sorry." I said. "I don't understand you." I had no idea what was going on at the moment I was trying to keep myself from panicking.

I saw that young woman tilt her head at me as if she was trying to see if I was telling to truth or not. Finally she made a 'Follow me' gesture and turned around. I quickly followed her and tried to keep myself from staring at everyone around me. I saw more than a few Batarians give me the stink eye. Not wanting to make trouble I quickly caught up to Quarian as she led me deeper into Omega. Finally she stopped and brought me into what looked like a shop. Granted it could have been a garbage dump for all I knew with all the trash hanging around.

She opened the door and I followed her inside. The inside of the place not only looked much cleaner it also smelled it too. You don't realize just how bad a place stinks until you've smelled something fresher. Looking around I realized that we were at some kind of weapons and armor dealer.

Behind the counter was an angry red and black Salarian. He gave what could only be described as an exasperated sigh and pinched his nose, face, thing. He then began talking at the Quarian a hundred miles an hour. He didn't raise his voice, but it was clear he was upset at her. She started talking back and waved her arms a couple of times. I had no idea what they were saying but I felt like one of those lost kittens that my niece would bring home every once in a while.

The two finally seemed to come to an agreement over me when the Salarian threw up his arms and pointed at me and said something. The Quarian grabbed my arm and led me back behind the counter and into a back room that was a workshop.

I followed her to a shelf that had what looked like a bunch of forearm protectors. Grabbing one of them off the shelf she powered it on and it lit up, suddenly I recognized that she was holding an omni-tool. She fiddled with it for several moments before I could hear it humming. I watched in awe as the micro fabricator spit out two hearing air looking devices. She handed them to me and mimed putting them in my ears. Trusting her, I did so.

"Can you understand me now?" She asked.

"Yes thank you so much." I said. You have no idea how unnerving it is to be unable to understand anyone around you.

"I'm glad. Are you alright? You were looking a little confused outside." She said.

Even though I just woke up less than an hour ago I felt a bone deep weariness in my body. What could I say to the girl that wouldn't make me sound crazy? She'd helped me out quite a bit just by making me a translator. I didn't know what scared me more that this might all be a hallucination and that I was simply crazy or that I was actually somehow in the Mass Effect universe. I decided that I could at least tell her a partial truth.

"Last night, or at least what I hope was last night, I went to sleep in my own home. Next thing I know I wake up with a Vorcha in my face looking at me like I might be a good meal." I said tiredly.

"Kheela, really?" The Quarian gasped in shock.

"Yeah." I said. "I've always been tolerant of other people, but even I have issues with those things, they're creepy." I said with a shudder. I couldn't get the image of that Vorcha snarling at me out of my head.

The Quarian beside me chuckled a bit. "Do you have any Idea how you got here?" she asked.

"Not a one." I admitted.

"And I'm guessing you don't have any credits on you, because you didn't have an omni-tool or even a translator implant." She continued describing just how grim my situation was.

"Two for two." I said.

"So what's your plan?" She asked.

"I guess I'm going to try and find a way off this rock and get back to the colony or even the Citadel I suppose. Something tells me that's going to be easier said than done however."

"Yeah Omega's not the easiest place to make a living. It's also not the easiest place to live especially if you're dressed like that." She said gesturing to me.

I looked down at myself. However I had come here, I came with my shirt and jeans. On my feet was nothing more than a pair of flip-flops. "Eh. Got to start somewhere." I said.

"Alright." She said. "Wait here." She turned to leave. When she reached to the door she stopped and called out. "And don't touch _anything_." Tone deadly serious.

When she was gone I turned around to look. I was apparently in some kind of shop. She and the Salarian must work out of here and sell their wares up front. Everything in this place spoke to the engineer in me. I graduated about year ago with a bachelors in Mechanical Engineering so I had a great understanding of machines and their components. I wanted to tear everything apart around me and figure out how it worked, but I was mindful of the Quarian's words. Looking over I could see a milling machine slowly cutting layers and layers off a solid block of metal. Sitting on a table next to the milling machine was an assault rifle that had been stripped down to its bare parts.

I leaned down to take a closer look. I was pleased to recognize that even though I was in a different universe mechanical parts were still the same, even if they were designed a little differently. I could clearly make out the power cell as well as the tungsten ammunition block. The trigger assembly was fairly self-explainable. So was the barrel. I looked at all the components and realized the head sink was missing however.

"That must be what they machining over there." I said. I was fascinated by the gun, but something kept nagging at the back of my head. Something wasn't right about the design.

"I thought I said to not touch anything." I looked over and saw the Quarian, standing there with her arms folded around her chest. I could see she had a slight glare behind her visor.

"I wasn't." I protested, "I just wanted to take a look."

"Did you learn anything?" She said.

"Yeah I know why this guy's gun keeps melting heat sinks." I said.

"Oh really?" She said.

"Yeah. Come take a look." I said motioning her over. "If you look here at this capacitor ring here you can tell that these were added on as a modification to the existing design. My guess is whoever made these changes originally had a great understanding of electronics but not mechanical systems. The problem is this thermocouple here," I said gesturing to the inside of the casing, "is behind the capacitor ring. Originally when they were smaller it didn't cause any problems, but-"

"But when they installed the larger capacitors to increase the power draw they inadvertently cut the thermocouple off from the heat sink." Turning I saw the black and red Salarian standing a few feet behind us. "I'm impressed, human. It took Neeta here six minutes to make that deduction."

"I'm very good at designing mechanical systems. Not so much at coding." I said. Back in college I had suffered when we were required to learn coding. I barely managed to scrape by with a slightly above passing grade.

"Alright Neeta he's your responsibility." The Salarian said and walked off quickly.

"What does that mean?" I asked turning towards the girl.

"I told Hurk about what happened to you. I managed to convince him to let you stay her for a bit and let you earn your keep. You'll have to work off the omni-tool he's giving you, and if you want you can get a cot set up in here like me, he'll dock your pay a bit to cover rent but at least it's safe here and he's very fair about how he treats me so I can't complain."

"Just like that?" I asked.

"Yeah he's funny like that. When I first came to Omega a pair of Batarians nearly killed me. My suit was punctured and I was bleeding. Then Hurk just showed up killed them both and brought me to a clinic. When I was patched up he gave me a job here working for him." She paused for a bit before grabbing my arm. "Come on I need to start showing you what we do here so you can help out."

"I can't thank you guys for helping me out like this." I said.

"Don't mention it." She replied.

"So your name's Neeta?" I held out my hand. "My name's Marcus."

She looked at my hand in confusion.

"Sorry human thing. You shake it. It's a greeting."

"Oh." She quickly held out her hand and I took it. Hers was much smaller than I'd imagined.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Marcus S*******."

"I'm Neeta'Kili nar Quib Quib."

So I had been here for less than a day been given a job, have a place to stay, and now I have a Quarian that's willing to teach me. All in all not a bad day all things considered. "Hey Neeta, what's the date?" I asked.

"By the human calendar its 10.16.2180."

_Perfect. _I thought.

**Chapter One**

It's been two months since Hurk and Neeta took me in. I had to give them some kind of back story so I ended up telling them that my parents had been part of a group of people that wanted to get away from the 'modern world' and that they had forsaken most technology that people had taken for granted. Shortly after Hurk brought me to a friend of his that ran a clinic here on Omega. The woman had been nice, and by nice I mean a complete she devil, and given me every single immunization I could ever possibly need. She then implanted a translator and everything I would need to interact with the haptic interfaces prevalent throughout the galaxy. I didn't find out until later that Hurk had gone ahead paid her to also give me a battery of gene therapies to correct issues with my cardiovascular system and my eyesight. She said if I wanted to undergo bone weave or muscle weave treatment I'd have to come back. I made a promise to my self to come back and do that as soon as I could afford the first two weeks I was a little put off about what had happened to me, but I made my peace with it. As an engineer working in the industry, I got thrown curveballs all the time. Most people would panic, but I learned how to take them in stride, often times I was the one that would handle any changes in design simply because I was the most adaptable person in the office. My managers told me that I would make an excellent project manager one day. That adaptability helped keep me sane, that and Neeta was a good person to talk to.

They wasted no time in bringing me up to speed. Most of the time I would work on the simple mechanical parts, stuff that had to be fabricated by hand either on the lathe or the milling machine. I love it. Back home I would never have access to the tools and equipment I have available to me now. At some point Hurk brought me to the firing range at the back of the shop at started drilling me on shooting, and I am pleased to say I was not a complete buffoon when it came to guns. I had shot before, so I knew how to hold a gun how to aim and all that, but Hurk was relentless.

"Shooter ready." I called out.

"Beginning exercise."

Suddenly a group of holographic targets appeared in front of me. Keeping my hand steady in a standard two handed pistol grip I lined up my shots at started plugging away. I quickly switched from target to target, I wasn't a pro but I was proficient enough to be dangerous. One of the first things Hurk taught me was to properly space my shots so I never had to worry about my gun overheating. As the targets got further away I found myself missing more and more. Having to take two shots instead of one. Just as I was about to hit the last target my gun screamed at me as the heat sink finally gave in.

"Crap!" I cursed. I watched woefully as the exercise counter clicked down to zero. The one remaining target mocked me at the far end of the range.

"You've shown remarkable improvement, but your accuracy drops by 56% past a range of twenty-two meters." I turned and looked at Hurk as he walked up to me.

"I know." I said. "I can't seem to keep the target and the sight's lined up past that point. Either I lose sight of the target or the sights."

"I know I watched." Hurk said. "You have a classic human marksman problem. You're right handed, but your left eye is dominate."

"Okay. So how do I fix it?" I asked.

"I'm not familiar enough with humans to help you, however I do have a temporary solution. Hand me your sidearm." He said holding out his hands.

I handed the gun over grip first. It was an early version of the Carnifex, called a Silletto I, that I remembered so well from Mass Effect 2. I love that gun, Neeta had helped me mod the thing to give me and even sixteen shots before overheating and we upgraded the barrel and firing chamber to increase the slug size by a factor of three. That meant the gun would have a slower response time between shots, but after seeing the effects it had on an armored target, I figured it more than made up for itself.

My other weapon of choice was a shotgun. It was an Executioner II manufactured by the Batarian State Arms. A couple of gang members had come into the shop one day to try and press Hurk for protection money. I didn't know until after that Hurk had a deal with Aria. He would help her men maintain their weapons and armor at a discounted rate, and in return she would leave him be. Hurk had calmly stood there with a pair of Batarians yelling in his face until one of them made the mistake of reaching for Neeta.

I reacted instantly and broke the Batarian's wrist before he even got close to my friend. Before he could react I stomped down hard on the guy's thigh knocking him down to his knees. Before he could get up I swung my left fist and connected with his jaw just as my right hand cupped the top of the Batarian's head. There was a sickening pop and the attacker hit the floor like a limp doll. I hadn't killed him, but I had partially severed the guy's spinal column with that move. He would live as a quadriplegic for all of three seconds until Hurk put a couple of rounds in him. I had been pretty shaken up over what happened, not because I had basically killed the guy, but because I had done it so easily. That's what krav maga does to people it trains them to react instantly without hesitation, often time with lethal consequences. I had studied martial arts because I liked the challenge. I hoped I would never have to use them in anger. The shotgun like so much else of our equipment was provided by the dead Batarians.

"Here try this." Hurk said holding out my gun. I could see a black box that had been attached to the bottom of the lower barrel. "And put this on." He said holding out a helmet. It was a full breather mask that the Alliance currently uses. I wanted to see what he'd come up with so I did as Hurk asked.

I put on the helmet and on board VI booted up. In my lower right field of vision I could see a motion tracker showing me and Hurk standing right next to each other and Neeta as she moved around in the shop. Opposite of that were my bio-rhythms. In the bottom middle was a read out of my current kinetic barrier system. Since I wasn't wearing the full suit at the moment it read zero.

The next thing I noticed was the fact that my gun had a neon blue laser coming out the mod that Hurk had installed. "What is this, some kind of infrared laser sight?" I asked.

"No no. Nothing so primitive. Custom targeting VI I created-"

"Ahem!" Neeta coughed from across the room.

"Sorry, Neeta and I created works in concert with modification to gun. VI then uses holographic imagers built into helmet and projects image of laser sight on inside of visor. Can't be seen by enemies, although it is susceptible to enemy hacking so be mindful."

I tested out how the new sight worked and I admit it was awesome. I already felt more in control over my weapon. "Alright Hurk let's try again."

A wave of the omni-tool later and the firing range was back up.

"Shooter ready."

"Begin exercise."

**Chapter One**

It was another two weeks before Hurk declared me proficient enough to join him and Neeta when they left to 'gather' materials. Read gather as 'strip the bodies of dead gang members for all they're worth'. It was pretty risky. Most of the time we'd wait until two of the gang's would get in a fight. When the smoke cleared we'd come in salvage what we could, melt the rest into omni-gel and get out. The problem was sometimes one or both of the gangs would come back and they weren't too happy to see us.

"Neeta, Marcus. Get your armor. The Crimson Tide and the Eclipse just had a shootout six levels below us." Hurk said.

I instantly jumped up from my table and grabbed my armor, and started armoring up. After two and a half months here I finally ditched the t-shirt and jeans and managed to get myself a decent set of clothes. But I always wore the under suit to my armor underneath that in case we had to get up and go in a hurry. Soon enough I was in my armor. It was a set of medium armor that we'd cobbled together from a couple of different sets. The shields were decent, especially after Neeta got ahold of them, but the actual armor itself would only withstand a couple of shots before it failed.

I slapped my pistol on my right thigh and put the shotgun on my left rather than my back. My job was to hold the pack that Neeta and Hurk would fill up and I didn't want to have to fight with my weapon to get the gun clear if I needed it in a hurry.

As soon as I was done I called out. "Need any help Neeta?"

"If you wouldn't mind helping me with the visor I'd appreciate it." About a week ago I had machined a set of curved plates that bottled on to her helmet, like the ones Tali would where in the later games. I cut down on her field of vision, but it protected her visor.

"No problem." I grabbed the plates and slid them into the slots and I grabbed one of the tools from my kit and tightened them down. "You're good to go." I said after giving them a pat to make sure they were secure. "Just don't head-butt a Krogan. They're tough but not that tough."

Neeta giggled as she grabbed her guns. She then threw the pack straight at my chest. "Just keep your eyes open 'pack mule.'"

"Neeta you wound me." I said laughing.

We joined Hurk out front and he locked up the store. We sprinted off to the nearest sky car and hacked it.

**A/N: I know it's a little short the rest will be of a more reasonable length. I hope you guys like it. Let me know what you think**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/n: I don't know why this one is coming to me so fast, must be because it's new for me. Anyway here's Chapter 3. Let me know what you guys think.**

**Chapter 2: To be an Engineer**

The place wasn't that hard to find really. All we had to do was follow the smoke. When we got there we saw just how big the fire fight must have been. There were pock marks from mass effect accelerated weapons all over the place. I could see fires burning from grenades and heavy weapons. Thank God I had a full breather mask that could filter out the stench.

"We must move quickly." Hurk said. "Eclipse is not known for leaving their fallen behind."

"Hurk, Neeta, you guys work on the Eclipse stuff I'll go look over at the Crimson Tide." I took off the duffel and walked over to the other side of the alley. It was the first time I had gone out on the streets of Omega like this. Neeta had told me that sometimes the gangs would come back for their dead friends. I couldn't help but feel nervous.

I kept my shotgun up and at the ready. My first day here a Vorcha had tried to make me lunch, now I was armed. I scanned from left to right looking for any sign of trouble. When I got to the far side I saw that most of the Crimson Tide were Vorcha with a spattering of Batarians and Krogan. "Hurk, we got a lot of Vorcha over here."

*Crimson Tide, is a splinter of the Blood Pack. Vorcha presence is ecspected.* I bit back a groan. In the short time I'd been here I learned that Vorcha generally had pretty crap weapons. I started melting down each of the pistols into omni-gel, we'd get more use out of the omni-gel than the guns themselves.

"Well hello there." I said. I grabbed a sniper rifle off a dead Batarian. It was a decent model, a Hammer IV. I set that aside for the duffel. There wasn't much else to grab. I searched the pockets of each Batarian and snagged their omni-tools. All I came up with were a couple of data pads and some credits. Most of it was chump change to have on hand in case they needed a drink or something but the total sum wasn't that bad. My work was done and I was glad that I managed to keep stomach under control during the grisly work of stealing from the dead.

I was about to head back to the others when I looked down at the haul and realized I didn't have enough arms to hold all of it. Now I understood why Neeta had so many pockets. "Neeta, Hurk you almost done over there?" I called out on tool.

*Almost Marcus.* Hurk replied.

*You need more pockets Marcus.* Neeta called out.

"Yeah I get it. Next time I'll let you make those modifications." Neeta had offered to add a bunch of pockets to my armor for me like she'd done for herself, I'd resisted because they got in the way while I was trying to hold my guns. "Just hurry up you two." I looked around. The back half of the alley ended in a cross street and there was absolutely no cover to be had. "I'm a little exposed here."

*Hurrying as quickly as we can.*

I kept scanning the alley and the street. The longer I sat there the more nervous I became. "Come on guys."

Suddenly I heard some noises coming from the far street. I saw a group of Vorcha lead by a single Batarian coming down the alley. "Guys we've got Vorcha. I'm guessing the Crimson Tide is back."

*Hold them off if possible. We're almost done.* Hurk said.

I changed out my shotgun for my pistol and set up near the wall. It was the only place that anything that resembled cover. I hoped that Hurk and Neeta would get here quick.

"Hey! What are you doing here?" That would be the Batarian. Crap.

I spun out of cover and raised my pistol up. I could clearly see targeting laser light up on the Batarian's chest. He was the biggest threat by far. I squeezed the trigger and watched as his shields absorbed the first round. I squeezed again and his shields shattered. I spun back around to cover just as the Vorcha opened up on my position.

"Guys now would be a good time!"

*On our way.* Hurk said calmly.

I spun back around. The Batarian had taken cover to let his shields recharge, but the Vorcha weren't that intelligent. They didn't even have shields to begin with. I didn't give them a chance to learn. My pistol barked and the Vorcha started dropping. I was just starting to feel that maybe I might be able to do this. I might just be able to help Shepard, whoever they were, against Saren. That's when the Batarian got back up.

While I was busy dealing with the Vorcha I had lost sight of the Batarian. I didn't see him pull a sniper rifle from his back and I certainly didn't see him line up a shot. I was over confidant in my ability. I thought a few weeks on the firing range had made me capable. I was wrong.

The first shot hit me in the chest breaking my shields in one hit. The second shot shattered my left shoulder.

"AHHH!" I cried out in pain as I hit the ground. I clutched my shoulder and scooted back behind the wall.

"Marcus!" Neeta came running up to me. She pulled out a canister of medi-gel and started spraying it all over my shoulder. I sighed as the pain went from an inferno to a mild roar.

"God my arm hurts." I said shakily.

"Marcus, can you stand? We need to get out of here!" Neeta said hurriedly.

"I'll try." I could feel my body going cold. I knew that wasn't a good sign. I rolled my legs underneath me and tried to stand. Only to stumble forward and hit my arm again. "AHHH!" I couldn't bite back the scream.

"I'll help you." Neeta went to my other side. We had to hurry. I could hear Hurk shooting his gun like a madman.

I tried to stand once more, and this time with Neeta's help I managed it. "Hurk let's go!" Neeta called out.

"Coming as soon as- die you pathetic excuse of genetic evolution!" I couldn't help but laugh at Hurk's trash talking.

"Neeta the bag." I said.

"Forget the bag! We need to get you out of here!" Neeta said angrily.

"Look I'm standing now. I can still carry it just help me from falling over." I said reaching down I grabbed the strap of the bag with my good hand. I stood up and swayed a bit. I was starting to feel a little light headed. "Alright let's go. Hurk!"

"Coming now."

We started making our way as quickly as we could back towards the skycar. Hopefully no one had taken it and we wouldn't have to search for another one. I don't know why I had insisted on grabbing the bag. I was hurt badly. I had lost a lot of blood before Neeta had gotten some medi-gel on the wound. I guess I just wanted to make sure I was still useful. Whatever the reason, my vision was starting to get blurry. After what felt like hours, but what must have been only a couple of minutes we finally reached the skycar. Neeta practically threw me into the back seat while she climbed in behind me.

"Hurk, get us to the clinic!" Neeta said.

"Lifting off now."

My eyes were getting heavy and Neeta and Hurk sounded so far away. I couldn't help but feel a little depressed. I had no idea how I had come here. I had lived in this universe for less than a three months and I was already going to die without managing to do anything. I was foolish to think I could possibly help Shepard. Who was I kidding I was just an engineer out of his time and place and Shepard would be the best soldier Humanity had to offer. She would have no use for someone like me.

"Marcus!" I could hear Neeta shouting.

I wanted to tell her it was alright, but I didn't have the strength to keep my eyes open.

**Chapter 2**

I was woken by the sound of beeping medical device. I opened my eyes and grunted at the sudden brightness. "Ouch."

I looked around and saw that I was back in the clinic. The same one Hurk had taken me to all those weeks ago. I tried to sit up but my chest was so tight I could hardly move. I grunted and laid back down. I hear a door swish open and I turned and saw the she-devil herself walk in.

"Marcus."

"Lila." I said by way of greeting.

The Asari clucked her tongue at me and went over to a machine and took some readings. "I see you enjoyed your time here so much that you just couldn't wait to come back."

"You caught me I'm a masochist at heart." I grumbled.

"Oh good. Then you shouldn't mind this." She grabbed my bad arm and shoved a syringe right into my shoulder.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I yelled as I grabbed my arm.

"Just a little something to help with the pain." She said.

"Yeah I'm going to need that _now_!" I said bitterly.

The Asari looked at me for a few moments before finally asking, "Marcus what were you doing out there?"

"What?" I said confused.

"What were you doing out there?" she repeated.

"I was trying to help Hurk and Neeta." I said, whatever she had hit me with was good stuff already the pain was lessening.

"Okay. Let me put it this way. What were you doing out there in general? Why go out with Hurk and Neeta? I talked to them and they said you wanted to join them. That you asked them to teach you so you could go out and fight. Why?" She said looking me in the eyes.

I paused at that. "Doc, if you knew something bad was going to happen would you try and stop it?"

I don't think she was expecting that. She tilted her head a bit and looked at me, "I'm a doctor. I would do whatever I could."

I nodded my head at her, "That's what I was trying to do." I said.

"Something bad is going to happen to Hurk and Neeta?"

"No. Not them. I wish I could tell you, but I'd sound crazy, and I don't think you'd believe me. No but I was hoping they'd be able to teach me what I need to know so that I could help when the time came." I said sadly. "Some help I'd be. My first fire fight puts me in the hospital."

She looked at me for a bit and grabbed a chair and pulled it over to me. "Try me."

I don't know why I told her. I was in a pretty bad state and depressed at the time. I told her everything, where I grew up, when I was born, my life. Then I told her about how I woke up on Omega. Then I told her about Mass Effect and how it was a game for me. I told her about the Reapers and Saren. I told her everything I could. When I was done she had this shocked look on her face. Like she couldn't help but believe me for some reason.

"It's funny." I said. "All I have to do to prove it to you would be to meld with you and show you my memories then you'd believe me."

She paused for a bit before saying, "If you melded with me you'd be dead."

It took me a bit to process what she said, "You're an Adrat-Yakshi?"

She looked taken aback, "How do you know what that means?" She said with her eyes narrowed.

"Like I said, this was all a game a few months ago." I said nervously, memories of Samara's loyalty mission came flooding to my mind.

"And do you know what that word means?"

"Demon of the night winds." I answered.

She laughed, "Normally when I say that to people they get angry and say something like 'Think I can't handle it?' or something like that. You're the first person to guess exactly what I am." She had this sad smile on her face. In that moment I realized that she wasn't like Morinth at all. Something must have happened to her to make her this way.

"What happened?" I asked.

"He was an Elcor. He was smart and had this wondrous sense of dry humor believe it or not. He was so unusual. Which is what attracted me to him in the first place. He and I dated for months. I never knew what I was. Then one day, well, if you know what I am then I'm pretty sure you can guess what happened." She help up a picture on her omni-tool. "This was Holan." It was a picture of Lila and an Elcor. They were at a park of some kind she had this wonderful smile on her face and her arms were wrapped around one of his massive arms. "That was five hundred years ago." She said. "Ever since that night I devoted my live to helping people. I've never melded with anyone ever since."

"How'd you escape the attention of the Monastery?" I asked quietly. I could clearly see the pain on her face.

"It wasn't easy. I had to adopt a new name. I went into hiding for a while afterwards, that and I've kept a low profile. Holan was so nice. I don't want to hurt anyone, I became a doctor because I want to help people."

We were quiet for a while after that. I didn't really know what to say. What could anyone say to that?

Finally Lila spoke, "I believe you." She said. "So what are you going to do?"

I laughed, "What can I do? I tried to be useful and look where I ended up."

"Marcus, listen to me." I looked over at Lila, "This is Omega. It's full of bad people. Murders, rapist, thieves. You're not any one of those. The first time you walked in here I knew you weren't a killer. That Quarian you work with is more of a killer than you. She's had to deal with slavers and all kinds of evil all her life. You haven't, and that's not a bad thing." She said.

"I've already killed someone." I said. I told her about the Batarian that had tried to grab Neeta a while back.

"That's different. You reacted the way you've been taught to, and you did so defending your friend. Going out and purposefully killing someone, even for a just cause is completely different. I bet you weren't to broken up about that Batarian were you?"

"No. Not really. He wasn't even dead after I hit him, he'd have been a cripple, but he was still alive." I said.

"Exactly. Hurk killed him, and he's ultimately responsible for that man's death. I think you know that deep down. Which is why it doesn't bother you." She said and I realized it was true. I might have played a roll, but Hurk had been the one that had pulled the trigger in the end.

"So what are you saying, just give up and let everything happen the way it's supposed to?" I asked. "What happens if Commander Shepard fails? I couldn't live with myself if I could have been there to help and I didn't try."

"No that's not what I'm saying." She stood up. "I told you if there was something I could do I would do it, but unlike you I know my limits. I know I'm not a fighter. I'm a doctor. So what are you?"

"I'm an engineer." I said without hesitation.

"So think. What can you do as an engineer?" She asked.

I had never thought of that. So far I'd been trying to play soldier. Emphasis on the word 'try'. I wracked my brain for a bit trying to find a solution then it hit me. "Crap." I suddenly had a flashback to Mass Effect 3 particularly the missions when you had to fight Cerberus. "Fucking Cerberus." I said laughing that was it. That was the solution.

Lila looked at me like I was crazy. "What's so funny?"

"I know what I can do." I said. The combat engineers that Cerberus employed in Mass Effect 3 were some of the most aggravating enemies you could face. Mostly because of the little mini turrets they deployed. "Where's my omni-tool? I've got work to do." I said with a savage grin.

Lila shared my grin and threw me my tool. "I'll check in with you later."

**Chapter 2**

"Marcus! You're alright!"

I smiled, "Hey Neeta. Yeah I'm back." I said. I was amazed at how fast I had recovered. Medi-gel was miraculous. I walked over to my bunk and set the bag that carried my small amount of clothes down.

"Where's Hurk at? I need to talk to him." I asked.

"He went out, said he wouldn't be back until later today." Neeta said.

I nodded, "We have any big orders that you're currently working on?"

She tilted her head and narrowed her eye's at me, "Not really. Why?"

I smiled and pulled up a data pad. "What to help me finish this?" I handed over the datapad I had that contained the in-progress schematics for the Judge.

I watched as Neeta scanned through the data pad. "Oh." She said softly. I watched with a smile on my face as she flipped through the different drawings. Most of it was just theory crafting right now but the general concept was there.

"So what do you think?" I asked.

"This armor plate will make it heavy and it serves no purpose other than protection. If we make it a part of the heat sink you can get a lot more shots before the gun overheats." She said.

"I thought of that, but I have no idea how to interface it with the heat sink." I said.

She brought the data pad over to one of the many desks we have and downloaded the schematics to the big screen. I watched her fiddle with it for a few moments. She effortlessly navigated through the design. I was learning, but it would take hours for me to do what she did in a matter of moments. I hoped that I would be a good as her before things got too hairy. I finally found something I can do, something I could help Shepard with. I just hopped it was good enough.

I looked at what she was doing. "I see, and if you put a sheet of solid Palladium in front of the heat sink you keep the protective properties of the armor shield."

"If you're going to go big, why not put a small eezo core in there and give it some kinetic barriers as well."

"That's a great idea!" I said.

"I was kidding!" She said.

I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"Not only is this thing going to be expensive to build but it's going to be really heavy with all this stuff on it." She protested.

"So we reconfigure the eezo core to make it lighter when it's folded up. That'll handle the weight issue." I said.

"And you're going to need a fairly sophisticated VI run this thing."

"That's why I want your help." I said. "Look, I tried to be a soldier obviously that didn't work, but I'm a pretty good engineer. I know my knowledge is a little dated but I've picked up on this stuff quickly. I just need to be useful, while staying true to what I am. Will you help me please?" I asked. I wouldn't have blamed her if she said 'no' after all I had almost gotten her killed.

She thought about it for a bit before finally nodding her head, "Alright, if it helps you from getting shot I'll do it, but," she threw a finger in my face, "you're going to have to pay me a consulting fee."

I felt the smile on my face slip away.

"What? I'm a business woman." Neeta said playfully. "We'll work out the details later. Pull up that chair and let's get to work."


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Fortune and Misfortune**

* * *

It took a week to work out all the little details for my new project with Neeta. We spent every free moment working on those plans, Hurk even gave us a few pointers when he saw what we were working on. When we were finished I had to admit The Judge would be pretty badass once it was built. It would weigh in at a little more than a hundred pounds. Defiantly not the lightest thing, but while in its compact form the micro sized eezo core would make it feel like less than twenty. All I had to do now was build the thing. Which was easier said than done.

The core of The Judge was a Revenant machine gun that I had to modify. Which wasn't easy, I had to completely overhaul the barrel, tiger assembly, ammo block, and heatsink, by the time I was done there wasn't much of a gun left. When that was done I started fabricating the new frame for the turret and the heat sink/armor plating. After that I went ahead and rebuild the gun with a larger and longer barrel. I tied in the new heatsink and installed a new ammo block. I went ahead and increased the rate of fire on the gun and programmed it to fire larger rounds, which required me to increase the capacitor rings in the gun. By the time I had everything buttoned up it had taken me almost another month before I could even begin to think about creating a VI to help me control the thing.

"How's it coming?" Neeta asked.

"Almost got it." I grunted as I lifted the gun and the heatsink onto the frame I'd made. "Help me with the pin?" I asked.

"Got it." Neeta went over to the work bench I had taken over for my personal project and picked up the retaining pin and helped me lock the gun in place.

I stepped back and looked at my creation. I didn't look anything like the Cerberus version. Instead of solid pristine white the gun was dark red and I'd painted the shield as a solid green along with the frame. Personally I thought it looked amazing, something about this gun just screamed aggressive.

"Alright Neeta. I've done all the fab work, now I need a working VI." I said. Our agreement was that if she helped me I would give her another working version of the gun. After I had worked out all the kinks of course. Her hope was to use the design as a Pilgrimage gift. Neeta's hope was to one day join the Migrant Fleet Marines. She hoped that if she brought back a working version of this technology then she could get in good with the Marines and join them.

"No problem. I've already got something ready." Neeta said handing over and OSD.

I plugged the device into my tool and loaded up the program. It didn't take long for me to connect to the turret. I folded up the gun and brought it over to the firing range. For the first test I set to automatic and let it run through the course.

Suddenly a half dozen targets appeared in the range and started moving in random directions and turret began tracking them.

"Beginning test." I said. I pulled up my tool and hit the large button labeled 'Engage'.

The turret sprang to life and started firing. Long bursts of automatic fire spat forth from its barrel and targets started falling left and right. I watched as the test dragged one the point was to see how long the turret would last before overheating or being overrun. Neeta had set it up so that the enemies came at the Judge in waves. That started out as six soon became ten, then fourteen then twenty. I had hoped that the Judge might make it to wave four but it soon became apparent that the gun was taking too long to switch between targets. Not only was it tracking slower than I had hopped, but it was also firing way too many shots before registering a 'kill' and moving on. The test ended just as the last target of wave three crossed the 'kill line'.

"Alright Neeta lets calibrate the sensors. We're firing too many shots at the enemy before we move on to the next target and we're taking too long to switch between targets." I said.

"I can reduce the number of shots fired in a burst down to ten that should help the gun take less shots before killing a target, but that doesn't help the tracking speed." She said.

"Yeah I underestimated how heavy this thing would be. The only way to fix that issue is to put larger servos on the thing." I said. I went over to the parts crate I had accumulated I didn't have any bigger servos but I did have a couple of high potential capacitors that I could use as a startup power supply. I grabbed five and wired each one into a separate circuit. Neeta set it up so that every time the turret moved it would draw the initial power from one of the capacitors which should make the gun faster on the turns, and by having five capacitors ready the gun could cycle its power draw allowing time for each capacitor to recharge.

After an hour of tweaking I finally had it ready for another test.

"Alright Neeta, let's try it again." I said.

"Ready."

"Begin test!" I hit the 'Engage' button again. And once again the turret sprang into action. This time I could see a remarkable difference. Judge fired and moved onto the next target. It was like watching a dance targets began falling left and right in droves. The Judge tracked much faster now. Wave three came and the targets never got within two meters of the 'kill line'. Wave four started and armored and shielded targets began being thrown into the mix. Just like I had hoped the Judge started effortlessly firing concussive rounds on those targets to knock them back and gain a little breathing room, Wave four was finished and the closest the enemy got was one meter to the 'kill line'.

Wave five started and the targets now came not only at random intervals, but also at random speeds to simulate realistic combat scenarios. At the very end of wave five a quick moving unshielded target sprinted across the killing field just before the Judge could take it out however the heatsink finally gave out. All and all I was much more satisfied. The final kill count stood at sixty-seven with an accuracy of 89.2%.

"Alright!" I shouted. This was a lot better. Of course the targets weren't shooting back, but this was a good baseline to start.

"That's impressive, Marcus." Neeta said.

"Yeah, but we'll need to see how it handles in a combat situation." I said.

"I know but I have a few programs that should be able to help you." Neeta said. She handed over a couple of omni-tool modules and a data pad. "Install those in your omni-tool and read that Data pad. They should be able to help you in a combat situation."

"Thanks." I said.

"Come on." Neeta said grabbing my arm,

"What?" I asked.

"You've spend every free moment for the past month working on this project. You need a drink. We're going to Afterlife to get a drink."

"I'm alright. Why don't you ask Hurk?"

"He's out again and won't be back for a while. Besides ever since you were shot you've hardly stepped outside this place. You need to get out. As your friend I'm making sure you have some fun before you turn into a crusty old Elcor. Now come on!" Neeta jerked on my arm and pulled me to the door.

"Alright!" I said. "Just let me grab my pistol. Lord know I could use a drink anyway."

* * *

I've been on Omega for nearly four months but I've never stepped foot inside of Afterlife. I had an idea what to expect of course, but like everything else so far, the games came up far short of reality. I could hear the music blaring in the background and I saw much more than half naked Asari on a few poles. Let's just say that the T rating on the game would have been thrown out the window with a grenade attached to it if what I saw now would have been in the game.

"Enjoying the view Marcus?" Neeta asked.

"Hell yeah." I said smiling at her. "But I came for the company so let's get some drinks and find a clean table."

Neeta laughed at my comment. Soon enough I was sitting at a table with a glass of bourbon and Neeta had some kind of Turian whiskey that she would suck through a filter before drinking it.

We sat in silence for a while before I couldn't help myself, "So you come here often?"

"Not really I used to only come here with Hurk, but he's not one for much drinking so I haven't been here for a while." She said completely missing the inside humor.

"Yeah he seems a little too serious for a place like this." I said looking around.

"Yeah his idea of relaxing is to come up with new and inventive ways of killing people." Neeta joked.

"So how have you been, since the. . . Well you know?" Neeta asked.

"You mean since I got shot like an idiot. It's okay Neeta you can say it." I said. "I'm well I'm not great. I thought I could handle myself, turns out I was just deluding myself." I said.

Neeta was quiet for a bit, "You were doing fine. Even after you were hit you didn't forget your objective. Honestly I thought you were holding it together better than I was." She said.

I raised an eyebrow at her, "Seriously? I was just trying to prove that I could be useful. That's the only reason I grabbed the duffel."

"Yeah but you were calm, I was freaking out." Neeta said. "I've been doing this with Hurk for about a year. Neither one of us has gotten hit that badly during that entire time. When you got hit I thought you were going to die. I kind of freaked out a bit."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because you're my friend! I didn't want to see you die!" She said.

That struck me. I sat up like I'd gotten slapped. "I'm sorry Neeta, I didn't mean to upset you. Tell you what, I promise to learn how to duck. Sound good?" I said smiling. I held up my glass.

"That sounds good." She clinked her glass against mine and we both took a sip.

"So what do you think of the Judge?" I asked

"Honestly, I'm amazed no one had come up with it before." Neeta said. "Quarian marines use drones fabricated from omni-tools to aid them in combat, but the Judge is much more powerful and durable. Plus once you start practicing with those programs I gave you, it'll be unbreakable." She said taking a drink. "Once we work out the kinks in fabrication it'll be much easier to reproduce and hopefully my Captain will accept it as a gift."

I smiled, "Trust me Neeta, just having you on their crew should be reason enough for any Captain to accept the Judge as a gift."

I could tell she was blushing by the way she held her hand to the side of her helmet, "Thanks, Marcus."

I quickly downed the rest of my drink and stood up. I walked over to her, and held out my hand.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Come dance with me Neeta. Let's have some fun, that doesn't involve creating new ways to kill people, for a while." I asked.

"Really?" She asked.

"We're friends right? Come on let's have some fun."

"But I'm a Quarian." Neeta said. I could tell I was making her uncomfortable.

"So." I said. "I'm a human and you're my friend and I want to dance with you." I said.

"Okay." She downed the rest of her drink in a quick few sips. "But I'm not very good."

"That's okay. Neither am I, but I don't care. I just want to have fun. If anyone makes fun of us we'll just shoot them in the kneecaps and keep going." I said jokingly.

Neeta laughed and took my hand. "Let's go."

We made our way to the dance floor. I have to say Neeta is way better than she said she was. I kept my arms tucked to my sides and just kind of shuffle stepped most of the time. I soon realized that I was doing the infamous 'Shepard Step.' I couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?" Neeta asked as she ground her back side against me.

"You are way better at this than me." I said.

"You are pretty horrible." She admitted.

"It's not my fault. I grew up on classic human music this stuff just doesn't speak to me." I said. I grabbed Neeta's hips and started trying to match her movements.

Neeta laughed, "Well at least you aren't completely clueless."

"Hey a booty like that is just begging to be grabbed." I teased.

We danced for a little while longer before we were interrupted by a Batarian.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

"Aria wants to speak with you two. Now."

I stopped dancing looked at Neeta. "Why?" I asked.

"Does it matter?" He asked walking away.

"I guess it doesn't." I said. I looked at Neeta. "What do you think?"

"It's not really healthy to ignore a summons from Aria. Let's go see her." Neeta said slowly.

"Okay." I said.

We slowly made our way loft where Aria overlooked the bar. The guards waved us through without a second though. Pretty soon we saw the Queen herself siting on her couch. I had to admit I was a little terrified of the Asari. She just oozed power and authority. I had no doubt if I made the wrong move she would kill me in a second.

"Take a seat." She gestured to the side of her couch.

I nodded and sat down. Neeta was on my right in an attempt to put as much distance between her and Aria.

"I only have one rule here on Omega." Aria began, "Hurk understood that rule. He and I even came to an agreement of sorts."

I nodded, "I understand. What's changed?" I asked.

"You're direct Human. I can appreciate that. Let's just say that Hurk got himself into a bit of trouble, seeing as he's your employer I figured you'd want to know. He's currently being held by the Eclipse. Apparently he's pissed them off." She said.

I sat up listening intently now. I could feel Neeta tense up beside me. "Why are you telling us this?" I asked slowly.

"Hurk has been good for my organization. I'd rather not have to find a new armorer and weapons technician." Aria said. "Do whatever you want with this info, doesn't matter to me. You can go now."

It was a dismissal plain and simple. I stood up and said, "Thank you." Before being ushered out of the queen's lounge.

"Marcus what are we going to do?" Neeta asked.

"We're going to get Hurk back." I said.

**A/N: I know it's been a while for my past two stories. I'm sorry about not updating as often as I should, but I've been having to deal with doctors and other things so I haven't felt like writing a whole lot. Sorry anyway let me know what you think in the Review's section.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Secrets and Service Numbers**

* * *

Neeta and I ran back to the shop as fast as we could. My mind raced as I tried to come up with a reason why Hurk would have been in Eclipse territory on his own, but I couldn't. He always told us we wouldn't be welcome there and to never step foot there if we could help it.

"Let's armor up." I said and I went over to my locker. I started pulling on my armor as fast as I could. Neeta had gone ahead and replaced the shattered shoulder pauldron and I went ahead and had her add in the pockets and combat harness.

Once everything was on I ran over to the Judge. I collapsed the turret and placed it on my back. The two magnetic strips where someone would normally put an assault rifle and a sniper rifle were perfect for holding the Judge secure. I shrugged my shoulders and let the unfamiliar settle on my back.

"Neeta, are you ready?" I called out.

"Almost. Get the guns would you?"

I went over to the supply room and grabbed our weapons. As I was leaving I saw a crate of grenades, I grinned and shoved six into my pockets and grabbed another handful for Neeta.

"Here." She pocketed the grenades as I attached the plates to her visor.

"Are you ready?" Neeta asked.

I sat there looked her in the eyes. "I don't know." I said softly. The whole time I could feel this nervous energy in my limbs. While I was moving it was alright, but now that I was standing still I started shaking. I looked at my hand and could see the tremors.

"Hey," Neeta grabbed my hand, "it's okay. You don't have to go out there."

I took a deep breath and made a fist, "Yeah I do. Hurk's my friend. I can't just sit here and do nothing, besides, I couldn't live with myself if you went out there and got hurt while I just sat here and waited."

"Alright, but we take this together. Follow my lead, alright?" Neeta said.

"You got it."

"Then let's go." Together we made our way to the street and into the nearest skycar.

* * *

The Eclipse mercs on Omega made their home out of the Tanzu District. Their operations are focused around the docking ring which they use to control all their smuggling operations. Getting in without being detected would be difficult, luckily Neeta had a good plan.

"We're going to use the sanitation lines and use them to sneak in. They just flushed the lines so it should be fairly clear."

"Do we have any idea where they're keeping Hurk?" I asked.

"No. We're going to have to hack into their network and find out once we get there." Neeta said.

We parked the skycar in a secluded alley that was a good ways away from the entrance to the sanitation lines and got out. We couldn't park any closer and risk a merc seeing car. I pulled my pistol and followed Neeta as quietly as I could. It was nerve-racking we had to cross two streets in the open to get to the entrance. We paused at the first corner.

Neeta leaned around the checked to see if the cost was clear before whispering, "Come on."

Neeta didn't make a sound as she ran across the street. I on the other hand, weighed down with my armor and equipment, was about a subtle as a slap to the face.

"Can't you be quieter?" She hissed.

"I'm trying, but this stuff is heavy." I whispered.

Neeta grunted but didn't say another word on the matter. We only had one more street to cross then we'd be in the sewer lines and I wouldn't have to worry about keeping quiet. Neeta peeked around the corner, but quickly spun back around.

"We've got two Eclipse mercs on patrol. One salarian, one human."

"Is there any way around them?" I asked.

"No. I might be able to sneak around them but there's no way you'll make it." Neeta said.

"Then we'll have to take them down quietly and move quickly." I said softly.

"Can you do it?" Neeta asked. It was a fair question.

I looked her in the eyes, "Do I have a choice?"

"Alright." Neeta said. "Which one do you want?"

"I'll take the human. How do you want to do this?"

Neeta pulled out a long thin knife. "On my mark we rush them."

I quickly put my pistol away and took a step back. I could feel my arms shaking at what I was about to do. I took a few deep steadying breaths. "Let's go."

"Three. Two. One. Mark!"

I sprinted around the corner right behind Neeta. I could see the two Eclipse mercs. The Salarian was closer but he reacted faster. I saw him reach for a pistol at his side. As I ran past him I shoulder checked him to the floor and hardly broke my stride. He couldn't have weighed more than a hundred pounds.

I locked eyes with the human. I could see him flinch in fear. He went to get his pistol out but I didn't let him. I punched him in the bicep, even though he was wearing armor the force was more than enough to make his hand numb. The pistol he'd been trying pull on me clattered to the floor. I snapped my foot up and my kick connected with his chest staggering him back a step. I wrapped my hands around the back of his neck and drove my knee into his chest which knocked the air out of his lungs. Before he could recover I wrapped my arms around his neck and put him in a choke hold and twisted hard. I felt the man's neck snap and he hit the ground with a thud.

It was over so quickly. I looked up and saw Neeta pull her knife out of Salarians chest covered in blood.

"You alright?" I asked.

"Yeah, are you?"

I looked down at the man I had killed. "I will be. Come on let's hide these guys before someone finds them."

"Sure thing, pack mule."

I couldn't help but chuckle a bit, grateful that Neeta was trying to get my mind off what I'd just done.

I grabbed the Salarian by his foot and the human by his arm. "Go get the door to the sewer open. I'll meet you there in a bit.

Neeta nodded and took off. By the time I joined her she had the door for the sanitation line open.

"Danm that stinks." I said. The sanitation line was a nice word for sewer pipe and it had a smell to match.

"Really? I don't smell anything." Neeta teased.

"Har har. Help me with these guy then let's go get Hurk." I said.

* * *

"Alright the building above us is where Eclipse operates out of." Neeta said.

"Good then we can get out of here." I said. We had spent about an hour crawling through the sewer line to get to this point. I haven't gagged yet but I was getting close.

"Not yet I need to hack into their network." Neeta opened up her omni-tool and started working.

Neeta and I were covered in filth. "Well make it quick. I'm ready to get out of this place." I said.

"I'm working on it." Neeta said. After a few moments, "I got it. Hurk's on the third floor, and there's roughly thirty Eclipse mercs between us and him."

"Danm it." That was a lot of mercs for us to take head on. "As soon as they know we're here we'll be swarmed."

"Maybe." Neeta pulled up a holographic map of the building. "If I can get here," She pointed to a room on the first floor, "to the security room, I can shut down their communications and lock down the building."

"That'll at least buy us some time. But this isn't going to be easy." I said.

"No it won't be. We'll have to get to the security room before they raise the alarm if we can do that we might stand a chance." Neeta said.

"Then let's get going."

We climbed out way out of the sewer. We came out at a side alley to the building. I scanned the area, luckily there was no one to greet us. There was a small door on the side, that Neeta hacked and allowed us to get inside. We were in some kind of storage room with only one other entrance.

"How far to the security room?" I asked.

"It should be down the next corridor."

"Okay let's do this." I hit the door panel only to come face to face with an Eclipse merc.

"What the- Who are you?" the Asari screamed.

I punched out and hit her right in the throat.

"Gack!" She coughed and fell to her knees. I quickly pulled up my pistol and shot her at point black range.

"There goes the stealthy option! Come on let's move!" Neeta said.

I changed out for my shot gun and together we sprinted down the hallway.

"Turn right!"

I followed Neeta's direction. There were two Eclipse personal standing guard at in front of the security office. I reached up over my back and grabbed the Judge and threw the turret in front of me. It unfolded as it sailed through the air and landed with a thud.

The turret started shooting while I took cover behind it. The first of the Eclipse mercs fell under a hail of gunfire from the Judge the second died from twin shotgun blast from Neeta and I. The door to the security room opened up and more mercs started flooding that hallway. I reached into my pouch and pulled out one of my grenades.

I quickly stood up and side armed the little round disk down the hallway taking some fire as I did so. With a report the grenade went off killing several of the mercs while the rest ducked for cover. I switched back to my pistol and lined up my laser on one of the remaining merc's helmet and fired. His shields, having already been weakened by the grenade, popped and I quickly put another round into him putting him down. Neeta's shotgun barked and I saw another merc hit the ground.

By now the mercs that had been in the security room had recovered from the grenade and started shooting back. The Judge's shield fell and rounds started hitting the massive shield I'd installed.

"Marcus, use your omni-tool to boost the Judge's shields!" Neeta called out.

I opened my omni-tool and sure enough found the program Neeta was talking about, it must have been one of the one's she'd given me earlier. I keyed up the Shield Boost program and fired it off at the turret. Suddenly the turret's shields snapped back into place. We traded fire with the mercs for a few more seconds but soon enough the last Merc died from a burst of turret fire.

Neeta ran up into the small security room while I ran a quick diagnostic on the Judge once everything was alright I folded up the judge and joined her.

"How bad is it?" I asked.

"Not as bad as it could have been. I've managed to lock down the building, but the mercs were alerted to our presence. They'll be waiting for us." She said.

"Nothing for it then. We'll just have to clear the building on our way to get to Hurk one room at a time. How do we get to him?"

"We'll have to take the lift it's not too far from here."

"Then let's get going." I pulled out my shotgun and started back down the hallway, Neeta right behind me.

"There they are!"

I dove for cover as soon as I heard the merc shout out. There were four of them standing down the hallway.

I fired a quick two shots from my shotgun at the first merc in line. Neeta finished him off with another shot from her own. I ducked into cover as soon as the others started shooting back. I leaned out the side and fired off another quick shot winging another Eclipse forcing him and his buddies to take cover. Before they could get set up however I saw a small round disk come flying from somewhere behind me. I watched as it connected with the poor bastard's helmet and stick. Suddenly the grenade exploded taking out the three remaining troops.

"Holy crap! What was that?" I yelled in shock. I looked at Neeta and I could see her eyes were widened in shock.

"All I did was put some omni-gel on the grenade so it'd stick the wall behind him. I didn't mean for that to happen." She said.

"That was awesome."

Neeta laughed, "Yeah it was."

"Come on. One more room to get to the elevator."

We ran over to the door. That led to the last room before the elevator.

"How many are we looking at?" I asked.

"About a dozen or so."

I nodded and grabbed the Judge. "When you're ready."

Neeta nodded and opened up the door. I could easily see ten mercs all spaced throughout the room. I sung my arm and tossed the Judge out into the very middle of the room. I heard an explosion off to my left as Neeta threw another of those sticky grenades. While the Judge unfolded I snapped off three quick rounds from my shotgun causing a number of mercs to duck behind cover. When the turret joined the fight what would have been a hard fight soon became a shooting gallery.

It looked like the Eclipse had never considered that someone would actually attack them here at the heart of their operations. The mercs had no cover what so ever, no conveniently placed obstructions or chest high walls, just a plain empty room, but we did. Neeta and I were standing in the hallway right at the door where there was a perfect pocket formed by the door to provide cover. The Judge absolutely mowed them down without mercy. It was kind of scary to watch so many people just drop down like flies.

"I think that turret of yours has more kills than either of us." Neeta said.

"No kidding." Now that we weren't running into the danger of having an entire company of Eclipse mercenaries come surround us we took our time to police the bodies for anything useful. I pocketed the omni-tools of each merc along with their credit chips. I was about to go when I saw a sniper rifle lying on the ground next to a Batarian. It was a Hammer IV, the same model I had been grabbing when I got shot.

"Neeta, you any good with a sniper?" I asked.

"No, but Hurk is."

"I'll keep this then in case he needs this when we get him out." I put the sniper rifle on my back where the shotgun normally went. I grabbed the Judge and joined Neeta in the elevator.

"Neeta, do you have any idea why Hurk would be spending time in Eclipse territory?" I asked.

"No." She said slowly. "It doesn't make any sense. The Eclipse hate us. Every merc organization here on the station does, not enough to take on Aria to get to us, but we have to be careful not to step foot inside their areas."

"Doesn't that make this even weirder though? I can't help but wonder what's going on."

"We're about to find out. Let's get ready." Neeta said.

* * *

The elevator doors opened into an empty room. In the center was a single chair. Hurk was slumped over in it, a pool of blood around his feet. After checking the corners we rushed over to him.

"No." Neeta gasped.

I silently put my arm around her and hugged her tight. Hurk was dead. He had obviously been tortured for some reason. His fingers were all at odd angles there was massive bruising around his body as if someone had punched him repeatedly. Finally it all ended with a small round hole in his forehead where he'd been shot.

Neeta sobbed silently into my shoulder. I was numb. I hadn't known Hurk for very long or very well, but honestly I had considered him a friend. He'd helped me out in the hell hole. Gave me a job. A place to sleep. Now he was gone, it was hard to take in. He was just sitting there with that stupid smile on his face. . .

Wait. Smile?

"Neeta? Hurk's smiling." I said slowly.

"SO what!" She snapped at me.

"Don't you get it Neeta? Hurk was tortured. We don't know why, but after everything he went through he was happy enough to smile in the end. Why?"

Neeta had stopped crying and now looked thoughtful, "Because they didn't find what they were looking for." She said slowly.

"Exactly. Let's see if we can find his stuff maybe he left us a clue or something."

It took a little bit of digging but soon enough we found Hurk's stuff. His armor had been taken from him. Same with his weapons and his omni-tool. The tool had been wiped clean, but the Eclipse didn't know Hurk as well as us. We knew that he always kept a spare omni-tool hidden under the chest plate of his armor. When we found it there was only one short video file on it.

_"Neeta, Marcus. Glad you found this. I hopped you wouldn't have to but if you're hearing this then chances are I'm either dead or captured. Either way it doesn't matter." _

It was weird listening to Hurk talk about his own death.

_"What does matter is what I've learned. I'm sorry I lied to you Neeta. My name is not Hurk my name is Salorn I'm an STG agent working here on Omega. My service number is: 91005-68-1027. I've learned something that I'm afraid may put you in danger friends. Eclipse is up to something that could threaten all of Citadel space. I've hidden all of my findings I won't say where in case this message is found. If you're hearing this you need to get in touch with my handler in give them this recording. They already have files on both of you so they know who you are, but they won't be expecting you. You'll have to give them a pass phrase and tell them everything you know. My contact's name is Jotheon here on Omega. You can find him near the VIP section of Afterlife. Ask around for him and he'll find you. Tell him you know who the Ever Alert is. He'll ask you for a name. The answer is Nikkel Bau of the Hazret Family Line. That should be enough to let him know you are speaking the truth. Don't go back to the shop, lie low, and find Jotheon. I'm sorry I put you in this position friends. I know I have no right to ask this of you, but lives are at stake. Please help me friends."_

With that the message cut off. Neeta and I looked at each other for a bit before I finally asked her something. "So what do you want to do?"

Neeta looked at me in anger, "I'm going to do what Hurk asked. He's treated me fairly when no one else would. If he wants my help one last time, who am I to refuse?"

I couldn't help but grin. "I agree. Let's get out of here and find this Jotheon."

* * *

**A/N: I know a lot of my followers are looking for me to update my other stories but I've been having the biggest case of writer's block. In the end I decided to put Warriors' Ethos on hold for right now while I sort out my thoughts and update a few of my other stories. Anyway I hope you all enjoy thin next chapter of The Engineers Effect. If you like it hate it or just want to comment please let me know in the reviews section. I always look forward to knowing what my readers are thinking.**


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Starting Over

* * *

That night Neeta and I slept on the street. We found a nice corner near a scavenge heap. The only reason we got any sleep was because we had the Judge set up in sentry mode. Anyone that came within a few yards of us got a concussive round to the face for their trouble. After the third time that night the scavengers learned to stay away. That didn't mean there weren't a couple of Vorcha eyeballing us like we were their next meal ticket the next morning. A pair of rounds from our shotguns sent them scurrying.

"Alright Neeta. What's our next move?" I asked. We were walking down the back alleys of Omega in an attempt to stay away from crowds in case there were any Eclipse looking for us.

"We need to find a new place to stay. We can't keep sleeping on the streets. That and we need to get this stink off us. If I get a suit puncture right now I'll die from an infection for sure." She said.

"Sounds good. Let's see if we can find a cheap apartment we can rent for a while. I got about ten thousand credits stashed on me from those mercs the other day. How about you?" I asked her.

"I got about eight." Neeta replied. "And Hurk's spare has another ten thousand."

"Okay so we're not strapped for cash, what we need is someplace secure and easily defendable." Neeta nodded and I wracked my brain for something. A place like the building in Garrus' recruitment mission from Mass Effect 2 would be perfect. Suddenly I looked off to my right and I saw a boulevard. Something about it looked familiar. I nudged Neeta to get her attention.

"Let's try this way." I said.

"Okay. We've got to start somewhere." She said.

It didn't take too long to reach the end. We were standing on a bridge across from us was a small empty building. I recognized this place now. It looked almost exactly like the one Garrus decides to make his stand in Mass Effect 2.

"Come on let's check it out." I said.

"Are you sure? This place is huge. It'll be hard to defend."

"Not if the only way in is across this very exposed bridge." I said.

Suddenly Neeta gave me a look, "You're devious."

I grinned. "Thank you."

Turns out the building wasn't exactly like the one Garrus was in. It didn't have a basement, instead it had a back storage room that exited into a very small alley. Which was easy enough to lock shut and encrypt the lock. Neeta then went ahead and hacked into the water and power grids and got use some basic utilities. While I went shopping for some food. It was difficult finding some decent food tubs for Neeta but after I talked with another Quarian on the station, he pointed me in the right direction. After that I bought a few armor cleaning kits.

When I came back I saw all the work Neeta had been doing to our new home. Obviously this place had been a store at some point because there were armored shutters covering all the open windows. Most of which were closed about half way. Looking up I could see that any defenders on the second floor could stand at full height and not have to worry about being exposed from attackers. The shutters in the front were completely closed meaning that even if someone did manage to get across the bridge they'd have to hack into the building's security in order to gain access. Which would be difficult seeing as you would be directly underneath a sniper's perch.

"Neeta! Open up I'm back." I called out as I pounded on the shutter. Suddenly the door opened up. Inside I saw that she had gone one step further she had moved all the furniture around leaving the entire first floor exposed to the second floor balcony.

"You've been busy." I commented.

"I know. I'm tired." Neeta said.

"Here." I said handing over the bag of goodies I bought. Neeta practically squealed when she saw the cleaning kits I'd bought.

"Oh kheela, thank you Marcus. I can't wait to clean my suit. There's a bath in the back I managed to get most of the sewage off me but I really need some proper tools to get all my crevasses."

_DOWN BOY! _

I couldn't help but gulp at how she said that. "That's good Neeta. I'm uh glad you like it."

"I'd hug you but you're armor's still covered in filth."

"Yeah I need a power washer or something." I said.

"There's a hose in the alley you can use that to get most of it clean then you can come back inside and we can eat."

* * *

"So are we going to go look for Jotheon tonight?" I asked.

"I don't think we have much of a choice. Hurk said this was important. We need to let the STG know what happened to him." Neeta looked down. "We owe it to him."

"Alright then. Let me go grab my armor. We'll try and find him tonight." I said standing up.

I stood up and grabbed my armor. We were silent as we put on our equipment. We only paused long enough to look at each other and share a nod before we locked the door behind us.

When we got to VIP section of Afterlife I bribed the doorman two hundred credits to let us in. He did but only after giving us a warning not to start anything. We were an odd pair in the bar. Most of the people here were just looking to have a fun time and drink their problems away. There were more than a few half naked women walking around. And not just Asari but Humans and, believe it or not, a few Turians as well. This time a managed not to gawk. I took off my helmet and motioned for Neeta to join me as I made my way to the bar.

"What can I get you?" the Turian asked. He had dark facial tattoos and was wearing a decent pistol on his hip.

"A drink for my friend and I." I said motioning to Neeta.

"Anything in particular?" He asked.

"I'll take an ale."

"Turian whiskey." Neeta said.

As the bartender poured our drinks I decided to ask him a about Jotheon. "Hey I'm looking for a buddy of mine, he's a Salarian. Name's Jotheon?" I asked.

"Never heard of him, but then again we don't get to many Salarians in here, and I don't really know those that we do. Stick around maybe he'll show up." He said as he handed us our drinks.

Neeta and I walked back to an empty table. I sat with my back to the wall and she slid in next to me in the booth.

"Do you think that was enough?" She asked.

"If this guy's STG like Hurk. It should be. But honestly I'm worried." I admitted.

"Me to." Neeta said.

We sat in silence for a while. I kept an eye on the crowd. So far I hadn't seen any Salarians. Neeta and I barely touched our drinks I was so wound up tight I could feel my hand's shaking. Neeta grabbed my hand.

"Calm down." She said softly.

"I can't help it. I feel like I got a bullseye on my back." I said.

"I know, but Hurk said we wouldn't find this Jotheon. He'd find us."

"I do too, but we need to keep calm. If Jotheon is here he'll come to us." She said.

"Or he'll wait until we least expect it then jump us." I said.

"The though had crossed my mind." It took nearly all my control to not swing my pistol around at the voice, but it was sitting unfolded in my lap. Somehow that sneaky son of a bitch had managed to get behind me while I was watching the crowd. The pale green and yellow Salarian had small but high powered pistol pointing at the back of my skull. "Tell me why I shouldn't shoot you right here. Only one person on the entire station knows I'm here."

"Because I know who the Ever Alert is." I said slowly.

Jotheon paused and raised and eye brow. "Who, is it Human?"

"Nikkel Bau of the Hazret Family Line." I said slowly.

Jotheon put the pistol away and I did the same. "There's only one way you could now that. How did Salorn die?" He asked as he sat down.

"He was tortured then shot in the head by the Eclipse." Neeta said angrily.

"How did he look when you found him?"

The image of Hurk's body flashed through my mind. I told Jotheon everything I could remember. "He was smiling when we found him. I'm guessing he didn't give them what they wanted so they got fed up and killed him." I finished.

"Of course, Salorn was a member of the STG. He wouldn't break for something as simple as that." Jotheon said. "Why are you here?"

"He left us a message when we found him. He told us to find you."

Jotheon, nodded. "We need to leave. Do you have somewhere safe where I can debrief you?"

Neeta and I nodded. "We just got a place set up."

"Doubtful it will be as good as an STG safe house, but we can't take any chances our activities being found out. Lead the way human." Jotheon said.

_That little bastard!_

* * *

"Apologies. This is much better than I expected." Jotheon admitted. "Easily defended with few people. Wide open killing fields. Not bad."

"Yeah well, being paranoid can be healthy." I say.

"So what do you want to know?" Neeta said.

"Hold on." Jotheon the proceeded to scan each room with his omni-tool. "No listening devices. We can speak now."

"Here this should explain everything." I said handing over Hurk's omni-tool.

Once Jotheon was done listening he looked up at us and nodded. "I see. Salorn, was stationed here to gather intelligence on the various mercenary groups here in the Terminus and determine if they posed a threat to the Citadel."

"Looks like he learned something and the Eclipse killed him for it." I said.

"Yes appears that way. Normally Salorn would use one of several predetermined drop points across the station for his reports. His last data drop requested that a ship be waiting on standby in case he needed an extraction. Salorn was one of our best data analysists. He was a highly decorated field operative before, but he requested this assignment because he was growing tired of field work. His intel has already lead to the seizing of several hundred millions worth of contraband all across Citadel space. If he believed something serious was happening with Eclipse, I believe him. We need to find out what."

"Why us? You're STG, aren't you trained for this kind of stuff? We're just a couple of engineers." I asked.

"Because you are the best of a bad situation. Without more intel I cannot risk bringing in other STG assets and alerting Aria of our presence here on Omega." Jotheon said.

"We could just say 'No' and walk out of here." I retorted.

"You could, but you won't. If you were the kind of people to ignore something like this you wouldn't have gone after Salorn in the first place. You wouldn't have tried to find me."

I shrugged. Jotheon might be a bit of an ass but he was right. "Fair enough." I said.

"So where do we start?" Neeta asked.

"We need to return to Salorn's shop. If he did have something he would have left a message for me there."

"Alright. First we sleep. Then we head out tomorrow morning." I said. "You're welcome to find a couch somewhere and stay here. I'll set the Judge to sentry mode, it'll alert us if anyone tries to cross the bridge."

After I finished setting up the defenses I made my way to the back of the second floor. Neeta had told me that there were a few room in the back, but I hadn't been able to check them out for myself yet. I opened up a door I saw Neeta standing next to a bed.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I'll find another room." I said quickly and started back out the door.

"Marcus wait!" Neeta called out. I stopped and looked at her. "I'm sorry this . . . is the only bed."

"It's alright I'll go find a couch somewhere." I said giving her a smile. My dad would kick my ass if I took the only bed.

"It's okay. We can . . . we can share it Marcus. I trust you." Neeta said. I could tell she was nervous. She was wringing her hands together and was shifting from foot to foot.

"Neeta its fine. You don't have to worry about me. I'll just find a couch and sleep downstairs." I made to leave again when I felt her wrap her arms around me.

"Please stay." She said softly. "After what happened with Hurk. I don't think I could sleep alone if I tried. I just don't want to be alone right now."

He voice trembled as she spoke. I realized just how much losing Hurk had affected her. When she first came to Omega she had nearly died before Hurk had saved her. More than that he protected her and gave her a job. Now chances are I'm her only friend on the whole station. "Alright." I turned around and gave her a hug.

* * *

**Comments on my latest reviews**

Shashenka: Thank you. I hope you continue to enjoy it.

tamagat: All I'll say is CoD: Advanced Warfare

Squadpunk 2.0: Yes indeed. I hated those things in ME3. Bane of my existence. And Payback is dish served with a plate of hot lead.

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**A/N: Here we go the next chapter. I'm really enjoying getting back into writing. Please let me know what you think. I enjoy reading what my readers think and it helps inspire me to keep going.**


	7. Chapter 6

**HAPPY THANKSGIVING!**

**A/N: I'm not dead just very very . . . very busy. Baby on the way. Working full time. You guys know the drill. Anyway here's the Next chapter. It's a little short but I'm getting back into the swing of things I hope to have another chapter out before the end of the holidays. BTW I never said this but I don't own Mass Effect. I kinda hoped that was a given at this point. I can't wait for Andromeda it's going to be awesome!**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Truth and Reconciliation**

* * *

I woke up to an unfamiliar weight on my chest and something nudging my arm. Unlike all those months ago I reacted instantly this time. I grabbed the offending appendage and twisted it hard. Neeta squawked as I dislodged her. I grabbed my gun and pressed it into the person's armpit as hard as I could before I realized it was Jotheon.

"Jesus, Jotheon. Don't wake me up like that." I said before flopping back on the bed.

"Apologies human. I will make a note of that." Jotheon stood up and rubbed his shoulder. "We need to head out soon. I believe this will be a long day."

"Well that was interesting." Neeta chuckled as soon as the Salarian left.

I laughed. "Yeah it was. I never figured I'd get the drop on an STG agent."

"If it helps I think he was just as surprised as you were. I don't think he expected you to be able to move that fast." Neeta said.

"Yeah well I've had years of training in several very old martial arts. Training was emphasized in speed of body and mind. I might not be the thinnest guy in the fight, but I know how to move." I commented.

Neeta nodded, "Come on lets go get ready."

* * *

Hurk's shop had been tossed.

It was hard walking into a place that you called home and see it wreaked. I could tell Neeta was taking it pretty hard. Almost every tool, from the lathes to the power wrenches, was tossed about or in some cases shot to hell. To see our tools destroyed was like a physical blow to the young Quarian.

"You okay?" I put my hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

"Yeah, it's just so wasteful." She said holding up a micro fuser that had been stomped on and bent at an odd angle.

"I know this must be difficult, but did Salorn have an office? If he believed that something like this could happen he would have left a message for me to find."

I nodded. "I'll show you. Neeta are you going to be alright?"

Neeta shuddered a bit then stood up. "I will be. Come on."

I'd never been in Hurk's office before. He only used it for confidential stuff. Most of the time he worked with us in the back or up front managing the store. It was small and the furnishings were very spartan. The chair had been thrown against the wall and a legs had been broken. The terminal on the desk was full of bullet holes and the small safe on the back wall had been blown open with a small explosive. Aside from that there was nothing else in the room.

"Unless Hurk had a secret stash in here that we can't see. I don't think their anything in here we can use." I said.

Jotheon didn't say. He stepped into the middle of the room and pulled up his omni-tool and started scanning the room.

"What are you looking for?" Neeta asked.

"Anything. Everything." Was all the response we got.

After a few minutes Jotheon stopped scanning. "Ah found it!" he walked over to one of the walls.

"I don't see anything." I said.

"There is an eighteen by thirty-two centimeter section of the wall here that is slightly raised and is completely uniform." I watched as Jotheon pressed his palm to the wall suddenly a small haptic interface lit up. I watched as Jotheon entered a password and suddenly a small section of the wall separated revealing a hidden safe.

I raised an eyebrow. "Man I know I joke about being paranoid but ya'll bring it to a whole new level, don't you?"

Jotheon didn't say anything. Inside the safe was a single data pad. "Let's go." He said.

We made our way back to our new safe house. The fact that I think of our new residence as a safe house boggles my mind. I can't believe how messed up my life has gotten, a few months and I'm playing the role of James Bond in some inter galactic spy ring. Maybe not James Bond, I'm cool but not that cool.

I keep silent as Jotheon reviews the data we recovered from Hurk's shop. Once inside, Neeta and I sit down on some of the couches and Listen as Jotheon fills us in on what Hurk was up to.

"The Eclipse have found a Krogan Dreadnought left over from the rebellions."

I feel my eyebrows shoot up to my hairline, "Whoa."

"Kheela."

"Indeed. Krogan Dreadnaughts were considered the pinnacle of space combat. Despite what their species have become at one point they were once consummate engineers, particularly when it came to designing tools of war. A Krogan Dreadnought is capable of withstanding fire from no less than three Turian counterparts. It's a masterful weapon of war." I could tell how tense Jotheon was when we said this. Several months living with Hurk had taught me a lot about Salarian body language. Jotheon's posture was the equivalent of human pacing and cursing up a storm.

"But that thing's got be a thousand years old. Surely modern technology should be more than a match for it now?" I asked.

"Normally I'd agree with you; however, the Eclipse have been upgrading it. Tuchanka is very rich in minerals. It has very large deposits of a very rare isotope of Palladium that's incredibly dense and has a tensile strength nearly twice that of the common counterpart found throughout the galaxy. The Krogan's did not just armor their ships with it they also used it for everything from the superstructure to the airlock doors and deck plating. High quality Krogan armor is made from the same material. Hurk predicts that with modern kinetic barriers and weapons, this dreadnought could take on five Turian ships of similar weight and still come out on top."

I let out a low whistle, "Danm. Okay this just got serious."

I saw Neeta's eyes widen. No doubt she was thinking what a great Pilgrimage gift such a ship would be.

"It gets worse I'm afraid. The Eclipse are almost done with repairs once they're finished they intend to sell the ship off in a private auction. The groups invited are some of the worst slaver's and mercenaries in the galaxy. If this ship goes to the Batarians there won't be a single colony safe. They'll be able to raid any colony they see fit and there would be nothing the Citadel could do about it."

"Crap." I said. In the games, we knew about the Krogan rebellions but we never got any of the details except that the only way the Council could win was to infect the Krogan with the genophage. With the technical specs that Jotheon was telling me it was quite easy to see how easily they brought the Council to its knees. If this ship made it out on the open market . . . I could see it now. Attacks Like Elysium would become common place and this time the Batarians would succeed.

"So what do we do?" I ask.

Jotheon sighed and looked about ten years older. "Normally I would call my superiors and let them know of the situation but we're in a total communication blackout right now. This is Omega, we cannot let Aria know what we are doing here."

"We going to have to get this ship ourselves." Neeta said softly.

I wanted to call her crazy, but the Migrant Fleet had way more to lose if this ship got out. The Quarian's were already an endangered species. This ship could be their doom.

I sighed, "So what's the plan?" I ask.

"Eclipse have set up a small dockyard in the Urla Rast system out in the Shrike Abyssal." Jotheon said slowly, "The Eclipse have a few gunships and a Frigate in the area. They don't want to move to many ships into the area to avoid drawing attention. Getting into the system while difficult is not impossible but it's impossible to destroy the dreadnaught with shuttle fire. A small strike team would have to infiltrate the dock get onboard the ship and plant a significant number of explosives, or detonate the drive core."

I stood up and started grabbing my armor, "When are we leaving?" Neeta joins me and starts going over each piece of her equipment beside me.

"Why?" Jotheon asks.

"Why what?" I respond.

"Why are you volunteering for this? This is a mission very few Spectres would even consider. We'll be going in with no back-up, no extraction plan, and a very small chance of success."

My hand's stop. "There are some fights that it's not only okay to run from but encouraged. If the fight serves no purpose or if there's no reason to fight I have no problem running away, but then there are some fight's that you must fight. Where retreat is not an option. You can't call for backup. The STG can't get involved and we don't have time to call in the Spectres. You tell me Jotheon, which kind of fight is this?" I feel Neeta press against me and wrap and arm around her small shoulders.

Jotheon simply nods, "You make a valid point. If we're to have any chance, we need to leave immediately. The Eclipse probably know that Hurk learned of their plans, but it will take time for them to move additional assets into the system to protect the docks. If we can get there before them we might have a small chance for getting in before they lock the system down. This ship represents a vast investment. They will not take kindly to someone stealing their property."

"Then we better not get caught." I said.

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**A/N: Read, review, comment. Thank you!**


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey Everyone. Thanks for reading. I know the last two chapters have been short but I promise I'll get back into longer chapters soon. they just kind of fell this way.**

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**Chapter 7: Food Riot**

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Getting around Omega is as simple as finding a skycar and hacking it to allow you to travel where ever you need to go. Getting off Omega is a bit trickier. Most ships that dock here belong to pirates or mercenaries, and even then, they only come here when they have a good reason to do so. The people that live here are either desperate or crazy. No one just visits Omega, so it's not like there's a scheduled flight we can take to Shrike Abyssal. Which is what led to my current circumstance.

"This plan is fucking nuts!" I whisper harshly.

*You'll be alright Marcus.* Neeta responded over the radio. *It's just a bunch of Vorcha.*

"Just a bunch of Vorcha my ass." I growled. "There's like twenty of these guys here and they look like they haven't eaten in a month. I'll have you know that I don't appreciate being put on the menu!"

*You don't need to distract them for long. Once onboard Neeta and I shall disable the guards left on board. As soon as our task is complete you can return and we can depart the station.* Jotheon said.

"You make it sound so easy." I grumbled.

*It is easy human. Now go play bait.*

"Just so you know I really hate you guys right now." I stood up and started walking towards the pack of Vorcha. I got to admit, whoever came up with the security system for this gunship certainly was creative. The older model turian corvette was parked in one of the massive hangers of Omega. The fifty-meter craft looked basically stock except for what appeared to be a detachable cargo pod that the ship was currently sitting on top of, and all around the ship was a group of twenty or so Vorcha. All of them looked starved and none of them looked to be in the mood for games.

So of course, I whistled, "Hey boys who's hungry?" I called out.

As one their heads turned to me. A few licked their lips.

"Meat."

I took a step back.

"Meat!"

I could feel a bead of sweat roll down my back.

"MEAT!"

"Holy shit!" I took off running with the Vorcha pack right on my heels. I could hear the Vorcha shouting a chorus of 'MEAT!' as the followed me out of the hanger. "I really HATE you guys!"

*Kheela! Run Marcus! We'll try to take care of the guards as quickly as possible*

"YOU'RE NOT HELPING NEETA!" I roared. The hallways became a blur as I sped down them. I soon came to realize that even though I was in good shape, running in a medium suit of armor while carrying fifty plus pounds' worth of weapons makes for a very slow Marcus.

"MEAT!" I felt one of the Vorcha grab my shoulder. Without hesitating I spun around and landing a hell of a right cross on the Vorcha's cheek. Without hesitating I pulled my shotgun from its customary spot on my thigh and squeezed off three quick rounds to buy me some breathing room.

I took off again and started taking turns at random hoping to lose at least some of the dimwitted aliens in the maze that was Omega. Suddenly I came out into a small square. There were a couple of Batarians wearing Blue Suns armor along with a few turians and even a couple of Krogan.

"MEAT!"

"Run!" I shouted as I sped past the first group of startled gawkers.

"Vorcha Riot!" I heard one of the Krogan yell. The pair of them took off running. When a pair of Krogan badasses run off in fear I know I'm in trouble.

*Marcus we've secured the gunship. Where are you? We'll come pick you up.* I hear over my omni-tool.

"Follow the screams!" I shouted back. I didn't have time to talk to Jotheon let alone figure out where I was.

*Right. Station security is showing a disturbance in the Lorna District. A food riot.*

"That's me and I'm the meal! Get me out of here Jotheon!" I panted.

*Marcus is your suit rated for zero atmosphere?* Jotheon asked.

"Neeta?"

*Yes Marcus you're fine. Jotheon where are we going?* Neeta responded.

*Just one moment. Marcus get to the highlighted area on your omni-tool.*

My arm lit up and I glanced at the map of the area. I could see a small glowing triangle in one of the outer hallway's. "You want me to jump out the airlock?" I asked.

*Something like that.* I didn't have the time to ask what Jotheon was talking about. I was a little preoccupied with a second Vorcha that managed to clamp down on my arm. Luckily all it did was break its teeth on my armor but it was still scary as hell watching something try to eat you alive.

"Get off me!" My fist smashed into the Vorcha's head once, twice, on the third hit it let go and I was off running again.

The next four minutes become a blur as I raced through the underbelly of Omega. When I finally reached the area highlighted on my omni-tool I call up Jotheon.

"I'm here guys and there's no airlock! What's your plan?"

*Keep running and hold on tight.* is the only response I got.

I could feel my lungs burning with the strain of trying to out run the Vorcha but the sound of "MEAT!" being shouted behind me gave me the endurance of a marathoner. Just as I reached the end of the hallway I heard a loud pop followed by a roar. I was picked up off the ground and thrown backwards.

"Shit!" I screamed. Images of clawing hands and snapping Vorcha filled my mind. They had caught me and I was going to be eaten alive by a pack of rabid Vorcha.

Then I noticed how quiet it was. All I could hear was the sound of my own frantic breathing and my pulse as it pounded in my ears.

*Marcus, are you alright?* I stood up and turned around. About ten feet behind me was a massive hole. I could see the stars and the asteroid field beyond the hole.

"Oh man." I gulped. As soon as the Jotheon and Neeta had breached the station the bulkhead's on either side of the door had slammed shut to prevent the rest of the station's atmosphere from venting. My armor had saved me but the Vorcha had been spaced. Exposure to vacuum is not a pretty way to die. It's quick I'll grant you but man, I had to struggle to not throw up in my helmet.

"I'm alright guys." I walked up to the hole and saw the barrels of the corvette pointed at me. "so how am I getting out of here?"

*We'll bring the airlock around. You'll have to jump Marcus.* Neeta answered.

"Just make sure you catch me. I don't fancy taking a tumble through vacuum." I joked.

*Don't worry Marcus. I'll catch you.*

A short hair raising trip through space later and I was standing on the single deck of our new corvette. The front of the ship was dedicated to the bridge where I was standing now. Stretching to my right was a obviously a crew quarters/mess/sickbay area. At the very rear was engine room where the drive core was kept.

"What happened to the cargo pod that was attached?" I asked.

"We dumped it was we were taking off. It was throwing off all the gravimetric calculations, and it was straining the drive core. We'll need all the speed we can get." Neeta said.

"Are we heading for the Shrike Abyssal now?" I asked.

"Yes. We will be transitioning through the relay in a few moments." Jotheon answered. "it will take us a few days to get there. So we'll have time to prepare. Neeta there is a food processor in the crew quarters that can be modified to make sterilized food tubes. If you want to be able to eat you should start modifying that as soon as you can."

"I'll help." I said. Following Neeta back.

When we were alone, Neeta turned back to me and started wringing her hands.

"I'm sorry Marcus." She said suddenly.

I blinked, "What for?"

"For distracting you while you were running on the station. I didn't mean to upset you." She said.

I let out a short laugh, "Neeta don't worry about it. Water under the bridge."

"What does a bridge have to do with it?" She asked.

"It means I've already forgiven you. Besides I was yelling at you too. I'm sorry I shouldn't have done that." I said waving my hand.

"Oh . . . thank you. I'm glad you're alright." She said.

"Yeah I'm glad to not be a Vorcha's meal right now too." We stood there awkwardly for a few moments. I remember how it felt to have her in my arms last night as we slept. Granted I know it's because Neeta needed someone she trusted close to her but it still felt nice.

"Come on let's go fix that food processor so we can both eat." I said.

"Yeah."


End file.
